Mubarak of Egypt: the U.S. Meets the Surprising Man Who Succeeded Sadat Mubarak of Egypt: the U.S. Meets the Surprising Man Who Succeeded Sadat Email He was Anwar Sadat’s handpicked successor, but when Hosni Mubarak travels to Washington this week for scheduled talks with President Reagan, Americans will find that the new President of Egypt is a strikingly different figure from his mystical mentor. Rising to power in the military, Mubarak commanded the Egyptian Air Force in its dramatic opening attack on Israel in the 1973 war. Yet he has shown no reticence, and indeed considerable skill, in putting his mark swiftly on his nation’s domestic policy. He has freed political dissidents imprisoned by Sadat and purged his Cabinet of members close to a government official arrested for corruption. His stewardship of foreign policy has been equally surefooted, if not always to American taste. Though Mubarak remains committed to the Camp David Accords, he informed Secretary of State Alexander Haig last month that he would not meet the April deadline for signing an agreement on the Palestinian issue without further Israeli concessions.

Just last week he invited the Soviet Union to send back to Cairo the 66 technical advisers whom Sadat expelled along with the Soviet Ambassador last September. Mubarak thrived under the presidencies of Gamal Nasser and Anwar Sadat, but he kowtowed to neither man. He once refused Nasser’s brother admittance to the Air Force Academy for failing to pay the registration fee, and when Sadat’s brother—a pilot who was killed in the 1973 war—first came under his command, Mubarak was notably hard on him. “I didn’t want anybody to think that he had privileges,” Mubarak says. “I hate people who exploit the fact that anybody in their family is important.” In that and other ways, Mubarak is far less the autocrat than Sadat was. After Sadat’s funeral, newspaper editor Hassanein Heikal, who had been imprisoned by Sadat, asked what the new President had worn to the rites. “A plain dark suit,” he was told. “That makes me feel better,” said Heikal, who has since been released by Mubarak.

“It means that he will not put emphasis on uniforms and decorations, like his predecessor.” Mubarak differs in other ways. He avoids both the rhetoric that Nasser used to whip crowds into hysterics and the political manipulation practiced by Sadat. Though Sadat openly attacked Arab leaders for their intransigence on the peace process, Mubarak has ordered conciliation—even to the point of forbidding the Egyptian press to criticize his country’s archenemy, Libya’s Col. Muammar Qadaffi. He has made it clear that peace with the rest of the Arab world is as important to him as peace with Israel. Most remarkably, Mubarak has shunned the cult of personality that Egyptian Presidents in the past have encouraged. A no-nonsense man who grew up as the son of a court employee in a small village near Sadat’s birthplace, Mubarak still answers his own phone and spends almost all his time within one square mile, shuttling between his office, his modest two-story home and the Air Force Officers’ Club. He is not given to the cumbersome motorcades in which Sadat traveled daily. “Suddenly there are no more traffic jams in the center of Cairo,” says one prominent industrialist.

“Sadat used to cause them by driving through the city to his offices, houses and palaces.” Mubarak also keeps his family life intensely private. When a Cairo newspaper reported that his half-Egyptian, half-Welsh wife of 23 years, Susanna, was studying for a master’s degree at nearby American University, the President personally excoriated the editor-in-chief. “I don’t want to see anything personal about my family—not my wife, not my children, and not me,” barked the father of two college-age sons. “I don’t want you to call me an Air Force hero or my wife the First Lady. There is no First Lady—there is Mrs. Mubarak, and my children are not the President’s children. They are two boys—themselves.” It is not surprising, then, that the new President of Egypt has shunned the press—especially the foreign press. However, as he prepared for a journey that would take him through Western Europe before his arrival in Washington, Mubarak—wearing a pin-striped suit and short Air Force boots—received Mira Avrech of PEOPLE for the only interview he gave an American magazine before the trip.

You have released nearly 100 of the 1,536 dissidents whom President Sadat had imprisoned in the months before his death. Why? When President Sadat started the democracy, he started too quickly. Many people advised him to move slowly, gradually, until the people could absorb this freedom, but he wanted to give everything to everyone immediately. Then things went sour and he suddenly began to impose restrictions. He arrested many people, fundamentalists and politicians, but his assassination changed the situation. I have to start another way of dealing with the people. I have to release those who are not dangerous. I have to release the politicians. I have to confer with the other parties here so that all of us can work for the benefit of the country. Are you more conciliatory than Sadat? I like always to be fair, but at the same time I am very strict. Whenever something’s wrong, I don’t leave it. I like to give warnings once or twice. I tell the people this is wrong, this is right, and if they have other ideas or opinions, I can discuss it with them. But whenever a decision is made, everyone should respect that decision.

Israel is scheduled to withdraw from the last occupied Sinai territory in April. Are you worried about domestic Israeli opposition to that withdrawal? It is an internal problem of the Israeli government. It is not my concern. When Premier Menachem Begin was here I asked him, “Peace forever?” And he replied, “Yes. Peace forever.” To have peace, we must respect our commitments. How can you assure Israel that you will honor your commitments after your land is returned? What can I do to reassure the Israelis? I guess I’ll have to order a big placard saying “No change, no change, no change” for everyone to see. Would you renew Egypt’s large-scale affiliation with the Soviet Union even though you have implied publicly that the Russians’ coming into the Middle East would be disastrous? I like to deal with any country who will deal with me on an equal basis. To deal with a country which thinks it is a superpower and I am a weak man, this doesn’t go in the present time of the world. Our relations with any country depend on the kind of cooperation they offer. Suppose Syria decided to declare war on Israel. You said recently that if they don’t consult you first, you are not going to come to their aid.

Suppose they did consult you, what would you do? I would discuss the problem with them. What’s war going to lead them to? We have tried war several times. It led to nothing. All over the world, war never led to peace. The war between the United States and Vietnam—where did it lead? To sitting at a table and negotiating until they reached a settlement. Why not do it directly, without war? We are not ready to go through another war. What are your greatest domestic problems as President? The most important point is the economic problem. I will be tackling that with my Cabinet right away. I have also asked some experts to prepare a paper for me so that I can discuss the best ways of dealing with the population problem. Every nine months you have one million new mouths to feed. Would the Muslim fundamentalists let you adopt birth control as a solution? We will try to find a way. You dissolved your Cabinet recently after some members were implicated in scandal. What did you mean by calling for “a new order”? I was planning to make changes in the Cabinet anyway after the [Israeli] retreat from Sinai in April.

When I realized that some of my ministers were involved in the case of a contractor convicted of corruption, I decided to make a complete change right now. I want the Cabinet to serve the majority of the people, not to work for the interest of a few. As President, do you find your friends ask you for favors? I never let friends take advantage. There are some friends who will try to have some profits or ask for favors. I have never accepted this in my entire life. When I was in the Air Force I had many friends, very close friends. Whenever they asked me for a promotion, I refused to intervene. How do you spend a typical day? I get up early in the morning—6 or 6:30. I have my tea and sometimes see my boys. One of them gets up earlier than me to go to the university. Then I read the newspapers. Every day I have a briefing about the international newspapers. I’m usually dressed by 8. I come to work here. My meetings, discussions, everything takes till 1, 2, 3 o’clock. Sometimes I have to come back here in the evenings when I have urgent meetings.

If not, I go to unwind at the small Air Force Officers’ Club, where I play squash and meet with Air Force officers and civilians. All those who have troubles can go there and wait for me. Sometimes I find a long row of people waiting for me. Don’t you feel lonely as President? No. I have many friends from different classes and I constantly talk to people. One day I was standing with a man who was paving the road and started a discussion. I answer the phone myself. Sometimes I even take wrong numbers. Once a telephone operator called and asked if I had placed a call to Alexandria. I told her, “No, thank you, I did not.” She asked me my name. I told her Hosni Mubarak. She told me, “Go to hell! You are not the President. If you really were the President, you wouldn’t answer your own phone.” I could not persuade her. How much time do you devote to your family? My children are busy with exams most of the time in the university. When I have time—one hour or two hours a day, or in the evening, whenever—they come and sit with me. I don’t like to go anywhere without my family.

You have objected angrily to newspaper reports about your wife. Why? My wife works hard and did so before I became President. She doesn’t like publicity. She hates to be followed by television cameras or reporters. My children, too, want to live a private life and keep a low profile. That’s what they are used to. We can’t change ourselves just because my position has changed. What influence did your own parents have on your life? Whenever I was with my father before he died, he used to spend hours advising me and teaching me. He’d say, “You should not do this,” or, “You should do this,” and explain that these are the teachings of the Koran. His advice was truly impressive, and since that time, I have acted according to it. How about your mother? My mother lived in the country most of her life. She was the type of village woman who looks for ways to help the poor. Even if she had only one dollar in her pocket, she would give it to the poor. Sometimes we had no food in the house because she gave the money to a beggar in the street. What are your ambitions? I am not an ambitious man at all. I didn’t ask to be President.

I just accepted it because it is in the interest of the country—not for the fame of being President, or its name or its luxurious life. I look to the post for its responsibilities, how to tackle the problems and solve them. This is my only interest. Your style is so different from Sadat’s. Is that deliberate? I act according to what the people want, to make them feel at ease. I never changed my character since I’ve been working in the government or the armed forces. My character did not change as my rank increased. Unlike Sadat, you don’t keep opulent palaces. Recently you announced a visit to the lake resort of Ismailia, then suddenly canceled it. Why? I decided to have relief for one day, a very short vacation. I had hoped for a quiet 24 hours in the country, just sit in the sun, have something to eat, walk in the garden. But then too many people found out I was going. People wanted to meet me, from the governor of the district to this man or that. They prepared receptions. It seemed it would not be relaxing. I was supposed to leave here at 4 p.m. At 31 canceled the trip.

So what will you do to relax? Nothing. I do not know where to go. Do the responsibilities of office ever awaken you at night? Whenever I sleep, I sleep. I never get up, only in the morning. So many Egyptians live in poverty. Can you improve their lives? I shall do my best. I have only my salary. I possess nothing but my feelings. Believe me, I shall do my best. Show Full Article Presidents of Egypt Presidents of Egypt Egypt's new President, Mohammed Morsi Flag of Egypt Presidents of Egypt President Muhammad Naguib (in office June 18,1953 to November 14, 1954)--Assumed office after leading the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, in which King Farouk was overthown by then-Lieutenant General Muhammad Naguib and Gamel Abdel Nasser. Naguib becomes Egypt's first President. President Gamal Abdel Nasser (in office November 14, 1954 to September 28, 1970)--Nasser became president after forcing President Naguib from office. Nasser served as president until his death. Nasser was succeeded by his vice-president, Anwar Sadat.

President Anwar el-Sadat (in office September 28, 1970 to October 6, 1981 )--Sadat became president upon the death of his predecessor, Gamel Nasser. Sadat waged war against Israel in 1973, and made peace with Israel in 1979. In October, 1981 Sadat was assassinated by Muslim militants who were unhappy with his peace treaty with Israel. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Hosni Mubarak. President Hosni Mubarak (in office October 6, 1981 to February 11, 2011 )--Mubarak became president upon the assassination of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat. Mubarak imposed Emergency Rule upon the death of Sadat, and maintained his rule as an autocratic dictator until resignining the presidency in February, 2011 in the face of massive unrest . As of February 11, 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman, became the ruling authority upon the resignation of President Mubarak.

President Mohammed Morsi--(elected in June, 2012)--Morsi, running as the candidate of the once-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, won Egypt's first free election with nearly 52% of the vote. Egypt, 30 Years After Anwar Sadat's Death : NPR Egypt, 30 Years After Anwar Sadat's Death Embed Embed Egypt, 30 Years After Anwar Sadat's Death Egypt, 30 Years After Anwar Sadat's Death Embed Embed Heard on Morning Edition Lynn Neary talks to Steven Cook, senior follow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, about the 30th anniversary of the assassination of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. They discuss how the past is shaping Egypt's future. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne. LYNN NEARY, HOST: And I'm Lynn Neary. Thirty years ago today, the world was stunned when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was gunned down by soldiers during Victory Day celebrations in Cairo.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) (SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE) UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The assassination of Anwar al-Sadat. NEARY: Fast forward 30 years to the Arab Spring and the fall of Sadat's successor, Hosni Mubarak, and both peace with Israel and the future direction of Egypt itself seem more uncertain than they have since that fateful day. To learn more about what the future holds for Egypt, we turn now to Steven A. Cook, author of the new book, "The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square." Thanks so much for joining us today, Steven. STEVEN A. COOK: Oh, it's my pleasure. NEARY: Let's go back to that day 30 years ago when Anwar Sadat was assassinated. What was the immediate effect of that in Egypt? COOK: Well, I think Egyptians were shocked, as everybody around the world were shocked at this assassination. But Egyptians were profoundly ambivalent about Sadat. He had reoriented Egypt's economy, Egypt's foreign policy, Egypt's domestic politics in a way that did not sit well with a lot of Egyptians.

And by the time of his assassination, Egypt's political arena was more contested than ever. NEARY: Of course, Sadat had angered the whole Arab world by signing the Camp David peace accords with Israel. What was the effect of Sadat's death on relations between Egypt and Israel? STEVE COOK: Well, President Hosni Mubarak, who succeeded Sadat about a week or so after Sadat's assassination, meticulously kept to the peace treaty. And over the course of 30 years, the treaty has never faltered. Peace between the two countries has become institutionalized. Yet to Egyptians the peace treaty has always been a certain source of unease and for some even a source of shame. NEARY: Since the fall of Mubarak, relations between Israel and Egypt have become increasingly tense. Where do you see Egypt-Israeli relations heading in the future? COOK: Well, I think it's no secret that in a more open and democratic Egypt, public opinion matters. There was an opinion poll that was conducted early in the summer in which more than half of Egyptians wanted to renegotiate aspects of the peace treaty.

NEARY: Well, parliamentary elections are coming up in Egypt next month and it looks like at this point the Muslim Brotherhood, which of course is seen as having an Islamist agenda, the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to win. What would a victory by the Muslim Brotherhood mean for Egypt? COOK: Well, I don't think there's going to be an outright Muslim Brotherhood victory. But I think that the Brotherhood is likely to do extraordinarily well in these elections, perhaps 30 or 35 percent of the seats in the People's Assembly. That is going to be more than any other single party and this People's Assembly that will pick a committee of 100 to write Egypt's new constitution. NEARY: But so much of the strength behind the whole anti-Mubarak movement in what we've called the Arab Spring seemed to come not from Islamists but from young Egyptians embracing these values of democracy and freedom. What's become of those goals? Are they just drifting now? COOK: Well, there is a certain amount of drift in Cairo these days, and revolutionary groups and the new political parties that have emerged since Mubarak's fall have struggled to gain traction and to organize.

But at the same time, Egypt is experiencing a robust debate about Egypt's place in the world and what Egypt stands for. And I think that you have a tremendous amount of political dynamism and creativity in Egypt, even with the kind of drift, the sense that things are taking a long time, suspicions that the military is growing comfortable with the exercise of power. NEARY: Well, what about that, the danger of the military becoming so comfortable, as you just mentioned? Would it try and hold on to power? Could it? COOK: I wouldn't rule anything out. After all, in the Arab world over the course of the last eight months, the unthinkable has become reality. But I think this current crop of officers are very well aware of the problems associated with holding on to power. But nevertheless, the timeline that the military has set out suggests that they could be exercising executive power until early 2014. NEARY: Steven A. Cook is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He spoke to us from our studio in New York. Thanks for being with us. COOK: My pleasure. Copyright © 2011 NPR. All rights reserved.

Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Anwar al-Sadat biography | birthday, trivia | Egyptian Political Leader | Who2 President of Egypt Anwar al-Sadat was Egypt’s president from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. He came to political power as an associate of Gamal Abdel Nasser , leader of the revolution that overthrew the monarchy (and British colonial rule) in 1952. Sadat graduated from military school in 1938 and straight away went about working to dismantle colonialism, initially pinning his hopes on Hitler ‘s Germany as Britain’s enemy.

He spent most of the 1940s in jail for his agitations against the British in Egypt, but after Nasser took power (1954) Sadat rose in the ranks of the new government, holding various high-level positions, including vice president (1964-66, 1969-70). Nasser died in September of 1970 and Sadat became president in October. In an effort to regain control of losses from the 1967 Six Day War, Sadat ordered an attack on Israeli forces in 1973 and showed enough strength to force peace negotiations. He made overt gestures of peace to Israel and wooed U.S. president Jimmy Carter into assisting with negotiations. The resulting peace agreement, the Camp David Accords, earned Sadat the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace (he shared it with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin ). But his domestic economic plan was a failure, and his negotiations with Israel led to violent criticism at home; Sadat’s attempts to crack down on public dissension only made things worse.

He was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic fundamentalists who opposed the peace treaty with Israel, and he was succeeded by Hosni Mubarak . Anwar Sadat | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Anwar El Sadat (Arabic language: محمد أنور السادات‎ Muḥammad Anwar as-Sādāt Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmmæd ˈʔɑnwɑɾ essæˈdæːt] ; 25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was the third President of Egypt , serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser , whom he succeeded as President in 1970.

In his eleven years as President, he changed Egypt 's trajectory, departing from many of the political, and economic tenets of Nasserism , re-instituting a multi-party system , and launching the Infitah economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the October War of 1973 to liberate Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel , culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty ; this won him and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize. Though reaction to the treaty—which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt—was generally favorable among Egyptians, [1] it was rejected by the country's Muslim Brotherhood and leftists in particular, who felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a Palestine state. [1] With the exception of Sudan, the Arab world and the PLO strongly opposed Sadat's efforts to make a separate peace with Israel without prior consultations with the Arab states.

[1] His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League between 1979 to 1989. [2] [3] [4] [5] The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination . Contents Edit Anwar Sadat was born on 25 December 1918 in Mit Abu al-Kum , al-Minufiyah, Egypt to a poor family, one of 13 brothers and sisters. [6] One of his brothers, Atef Sadat, later became a pilot and was killed in action during the October War of 1973. [7] His father, Anwar Mohammed El Sadat was Egyptian, and his mother, Sit Al-Berain, was a Sudanese Nubian from her grandmother. [8] [9] He spent his early childhood under the care of his grandmother, who told him stories revolving around resistance to the British occupation and drawing on contemporary history. [10] During Sadat's childhood, he admired and was influenced greatly by four individuals.

The first of his childhood heroes was Zahran, the alleged hero of the Denshawai Incident , who resisted the British occupation in a farmer protest. According to the story, a British soldier was killed, and Zahran was the first Egyptian hanged in retribution. Stories like the Ballad of Zahran introduced Sadat to Egyptian nationalism, a value he held throughout his life. [10] The second individual was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , who was the leader of contemporary Turkey. Sadat admired his ability to overthrow the foreign influence , and his many social reforms . He also idolized Mahatma Gandhi and his belief in non-violent struggle or Ahimsa when facing injustice. During the period when Egypt was a protectorate of the United Kingdom, Sadat was fascinated by Hitler's Nazi German army for their quick ability to become a strategic threat to Britain. [10] He graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Cairo in 1938 and was appointed to the Signal Corps. He entered the army as a second lieutenant and was posted to Sudan (Egypt and Sudan were one country at the time).

There, he met Gamal Abdel Nasser , and along with several other junior officers they formed the secret Free Officers , a movement committed to freeing Egypt and Sudan from British domination, and royal corruption. During the Second World War he was imprisoned by the British for his efforts to obtain help from the Axis Powers in expelling the occupying British forces. Along with his fellow Free Officers, Sadat participated in the military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 which overthrew King Farouk on 23 July of that year. Sadat was assigned to announce the news of the revolution to the Egyptian people over the radio networks. During Nasser's presidency Top Egyptian leaders in Alexandria, 1968. From left to right: Gamal Abdel Nasser , Sadat, Ali Sabri and Hussein el-Shafei During the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sadat was appointed minister of State in 1954. He was also appointed editor of the newly founded daily Al Gomhuria . [11] In 1959, he assumed the position of Secretary to the National Union .

Sadat was the President of the National Assembly (1960–1968) and then vice president and member of the presidential council in 1964. He was reappointed as vice president again in December 1969. Presidency Edit Some of the major events of the Sadat's presidency were his "Corrective Revolution" to consolidate power, the break with Egypt's long-time ally and aid-giver the USSR, the 1973 October War with Israel, the Camp David peace treaty with Israel, the "opening up" (or Infitah ) of Egypt's economy, and finally his assassination in 1981. 1972 newsreel about the early Sadat years Sadat succeeded Nasser as president after the latter's death in October 1970. [12] Sadat's presidency was widely expected to be short-lived. [13] Viewing him as having been little more than a puppet of the former president, Nasser's supporters in government settled on Sadat as someone they could manipulate easily. Sadat surprised everyone with a series of astute political moves by which he was able to retain the presidency and emerge as a leader in his own right.

[14] On 15 May 1971, [15] Sadat announced his Corrective Revolution , purging the government, political and security establishments of the most ardent Nasserists . Sadat encouraged the emergence of an Islamist movement which had been suppressed by Nasser. Believing Islamists to be socially conservative he gave them "considerable cultural and ideological autonomy" in exchange for political support. [16] In 1971, three years into the War of Attrition in the Suez Canal zone, Sadat endorsed in a letter the peace proposals of UN negotiator Gunnar Jarring which seemed to lead to a full peace with Israel on the basis of Israel's withdrawal to its pre-war borders. This peace initiative failed as neither Israel nor the United States of America accepted the terms as discussed then. Corrective Revolution Main article: Corrective Revolution (Egypt) Shortly after taking office, Sadat shocked many Egyptians by dismissing and imprisoning two of the most powerful figures in the regime, Vice President Ali Sabry , who had close ties with Soviet officials, and Sharawy Gomaa , the Interior Minister, who controlled the secret police.

[13] Sadat's rising popularity would accelerate after he cut back the powers of the hated secret police, [13] expelled Soviet military from the country and reformed the Egyptian army for a renewed confrontation with Israel. [13] During this time, Egypt was suffering greatly from economic problems caused by the Six-Day War and the Soviet relationship also declined due to their unreliability and refusal of Sadat's requests for more military support. [10] October War Main article: Yom Kippur War On 6 October 1973, in conjunction with Hafez al-Assad of Syria, Sadat launched the October War , also known as the Yom Kippur War (and less commonly as the Ramadan War), a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, and the Syrian Golan heights in an attempt to liberate these respective Egyptian, Syrian territories territory that had been occupied by Israel since the Six Day War six years earlier. The Egyptian and Syrian performance in the initial stages of the war astonished both Israel, and the Arab World.

The most striking achievement ( Operation Badr , also known as The Crossing) was the Egyptian military's advance approximately 15 km into the occupied Sinai Peninsula after penetrating and largely destroying the Bar Lev Line . This line was popularly thought to have been an impregnable defensive chain. As the war progressed, three divisions of the Israeli army led by General Ariel Sharon had crossed the Suez Canal, trying to encircle first the Egyptian Second Army, and, when this failed, the Egyptian Third Army. Prompted by an agreement between the United States of America, and the Soviet Union, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 338 on 22 October 1973, calling for an immediate ceasefire. [17] Although agreed upon, the ceasefire was immediately broken. [18] Alexei Kosygin , the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers , cancelled an official meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anker Jørgensen to travel to Egypt where he tried to persuade Sadat to sign a peace treaty. During Kosygin's two-day long stay it is unknown if he and Sadat ever met in person. [19] The Israeli military then continued their drive to encircle the Egyptian army.

The encirclement was completed on 25 October, three days after the ceasefire was broken. This development prompted superpower tension, but a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on 25 October to end the war. At the conclusion of hostilities, Israeli forces were 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Damascus and 101 kilometres (63 mi) from Cairo. Peace with Israel Main article: Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty The initial Egyptian and Syrian victories in the war restored popular morale throughout Egypt and the Arab World and, for many years after, Sadat was known as the "Hero of the Crossing". Efforts to make peace with Israel through diplomacy would soon gain popular support among Egyptians as well. [13] Israel recognized Egypt as a formidable foe, and Egypt's renewed political significance eventually led to regaining and reopening the Suez Canal through the peace process. His new peace policy led to the conclusion of two agreements on disengagement of forces with the Israeli government. The first of these agreements was signed on 18 January 1974, and the second on 4 September 1975. One major aspect of Sadat's peace policy was to gain some religious support for his efforts.

Already during his visit to the US in October–November 1975, he invited Evangelical pastor Billy Graham for an official visit, which was held a few days after Sadat's visit. [20] In addition to cultivating relations with Evangelical Christians in the US, he also built some cooperation with the Vatican. On 8 April 1976, he visited for the first time at the Vatican, and got a message of support from Pope Paul VI regarding achieving peace with Israel, to include a just solution to the Palestinian issue . [21] Sadat, on his part, extended to the Pope a public invitation to visit Cairo. [22] Sadat also used the media to promote his purposes. In an interview he gave to the Lebanese paper El Hawadeth in early February 1976, he claimed he had secret commitment from the US government to put pressure on the Israeli government for a major withdrawal in Sinai and the Golan Heights. [23] This statement caused some concern to the Israeli government, but Kissinger denied such a promise was ever made.

[24] In January 1977, a series of 'Bread Riots' protested Sadat's economic liberalization and specifically a government decree lifting price controls on basic necessities like bread. The riots lasted for two days and included hundreds of thousands in Cairo. 120 buses and hundreds of buildings were destroyed in Cairo alone. [25] The riots ended with the deployment of the army and the re-institution of the subsidies/price controls. [26] [27] During this time, Sadat was also taking a new approach towards improving relations with the West. [13] The United States and the Soviet Union agreed on 1 Oct 1977, on principles to govern a Geneva conference on the Middle East. [13] Syria continued to resist such a conference. [13] Not wanting either Syria or the Soviet Union to influence the peace process, Sadat decided to take more progressive stance towards building a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel.

[13] On 20 November 1977, Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel officially when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin , and spoke before the Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve a comprehensive peace to the Arab–Israeli conflict , which included the full implementation of UN Resolutions 242 and 338 . He said during his visit that he hopes "that we can keep the momentum in Geneva, and may God guide the steps of Premier Begin and Knesset, because there is a great need for hard and drastic decision." [28] Sadat (left) shaking hands with Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman , 1978 President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin acknowledge applause during joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., during which President Jimmy Carter announced the results of the Camp David Accords, 18 September 1978 President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the signing of the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty on the grounds of the White House, 1979 President Sadat with U.S.

Senator Joe Biden (left), and U.S. Senator Frank Church (center), at Camp David , 1979. The Peace treaty was finally signed by Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26 March 1979, following the Camp David Accords (1978) , a series of meetings between Egypt and Israel facilitated by US President Jimmy Carter . Both Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for creating the treaty. In his acceptance speech, Sadat referred to the long awaited peace desired by both Arabs and Israelis: Let us put an end to wars, let us reshape life on the solid basis of equity and truth. And it is this call, which reflected the will of the Egyptian people, of the great majority of the Arab and Israeli peoples, and indeed of millions of men, women, and children around the world that you are today honoring. And these hundreds of millions will judge to what extent every responsible leader in the Middle East has responded to the hopes of mankind.

[29] The main features of the agreement were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and the complete withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the rest of the Sinai Peninsula which Israel had captured during the 1967 Six-Day War . The agreement also provided for the free passage of Israeli ships through the Suez Canal and recognition of the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways. The agreement notably made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel. The peace agreement between Egypt and Israel has remained in effect since the treaty was signed. The treaty was extremely unpopular in most of the Arab World and the wider Muslim World. [30] His predecessor Nasser had made Egypt an icon of Arab nationalism, an ideology that appeared to be sidelined by an Egyptian orientation following the 1973 war (see Egypt ).

By signing the accords, the neighboring Arab countries believed Sadat had put Egypt's interests ahead of Arab unity, betraying Nasser's pan-Arabism , and destroyed the vision of a united "Arab front" for the support of the Palestinians against the "Zionist Entity". However, Sadat decided early on that peace is the solution. [13] [31] Sadat's shift towards a strategic relationship with the US was also seen as a betrayal by many Arabs. In the United States his peace moves gained him popularity among some Evangelical circles. He was awarded the Prince of Peace Award by Pat Robertson . [32] In 1979, the Arab League suspended Egypt in the wake of the Egyptian–Israel peace agreement, and the League moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. Arab League member states believed in the elimination of the "Zionist Entity" and Israel at that time. It was not until 1989 that the League re-admitted Egypt as a member, and returned its headquarters to Cairo.

As part of the peace deal, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in phases, completing its withdrawal from the entire territory except the town of Taba by 25 April 1982 (withdrawal from which did not occur until 1989). [13] The improved relations Egypt gained with the West through the Camp David Accords soon gave the country resilient economic growth. [13] By 1980, however, Egypt's strained relations with the Arab World would result a period of rapid inflation. [13] Relationship with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran Edit The relationship between Iran and Egypt had fallen into open hostility during Gamal Abdel Nasser 's presidency. Following his death in 1970, President Sadat turned this around quickly into an open and close friendship. In 1971, Sadat addressed the Iranian parliament in Tehran in fluent Persian, describing the 2500 years old historic connection between the two lands. Overnight, the Egyptian and Iranian governments were turned from bitter enemies into fast friends.

The relationship between Cairo and Tehran became so friendly that the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , called Sadat his "dear brother." After the 1973 war with Israel, Iran assumed a leading role in cleaning up and reactivating the blocked Suez Canal with heavy investment. She also facilitated the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Sinai Peninsula by promising to substitute the loss of the oil to the Israelis with free Iranian oil if they withdrew from the Egyptian oil wells in Western Sinai. All these added more to the personal friendship between Sadat and the Shah of Iran. (The Shah's first wife was Princess Fawzia of Egypt . She was the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King Fuad I ) and his second wife Nazli Sabri.) After his overthrow, the deposed Shah spent the last months of his life in exile in Egypt. When the Shah died, Sadat ordered that he be given a state funeral and be interred at the Al-Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, the resting place of Egyptian Khedive Isma'il Pasha , his mother Khushyar Hanim, and numerous other members of the royal family of Egypt and Sudan .

[33] Assassination Main article: Assassination of Anwar Sadat The last months of Sadat's presidency were marked by internal uprising. [13] Sadat dismissed allegations that the rioting was incited by domestic issues, believing that the Soviet Union was recruiting its regional allies in Libya and Syria to incite an uprising that would eventually force him out of power. [13] Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a major crackdown that resulted in arrest of numerous opposition figures. [13] Though Sadat still maintained high levels of popularity in Egypt, [13] it has been said that he was assassinated "at the peak" of his unpopularity. [34] Earlier in his presidency, Islamists had benefited from the 'rectification revolution' and the release from prison of activists jailed under Nasser [15] but Sadat's Sinai treaty with Israel enraged Islamists, particularly the radical Egyptian Islamic Jihad . According to interviews and information gathered by journalist Lawrence Wright , the group was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch "a complete overthrow of the existing order" in Egypt.

Chief strategist of El-Jihad was Abbud al-Zumar , a colonel in the military intelligence whose "plan was to kill the main leaders of the country, capture the headquarters of the army and State Security, the telephone exchange building, and of course the radio and television building, where news of the Islamic revolution would then be broadcast, unleashing—he expected—a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country." [35] In February 1981, Egyptian authorities were alerted to El-Jihad's plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information. In September, Sadat ordered a highly unpopular roundup of more than 1500 people, including many Jihad members, but also the Coptic Pope and other Coptic clergy, intellectuals and activists of all ideological stripes. [36] All non-government press was banned as well. [37] The round up missed a Jihad cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli , who would succeed in assassinating Anwar Sadat that October.

[38] According to Tala'at Qasim , ex-head of the Gama'a Islamiyya interviewed in Middle East Report , it was not Islamic Jihad but his organization, known in English as the "Islamic Group", that organized the assassination and recruited the assassin (Islambouli). Members of the Group's 'Majlis el-Shura' ('Consultative Council') – headed by the famed 'blind shaykh' – were arrested two weeks before the killing, but they did not disclose the existing plans and Islambouli succeeded in assassinating Sadat. [39] On 6 October 1981, Sadat was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal . [40] Islambouli emptied his assault rifle onto Sadat's body while on the stands, instantly killing the President. In addition to Sadat, eleven others were killed, including the Cuban ambassador, an Omani general, a Coptic Orthodox bishop and Samir Helmy, the head of Egypt's Central Auditing Agency (CAA).

[41] [42] Twenty-eight were wounded, including Vice President Hosni Mubarak , Irish Defence Minister James Tully , and four US military liaison officers. The assassination squad was led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli after a fatwā approving the assassination had been obtained from Omar Abdel-Rahman . [43] Islambouli was tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad in April 1982. Aftermath Edit Sadat was succeeded by his vice president Hosni Mubarak, whose hand was injured during the attack. Sadat's funeral was attended by a record number of dignitaries from around the world, including a rare simultaneous attendance by three former US presidents: Gerald Ford , Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon . Sudan's President Gaafar Nimeiry was the only Arab head of state to attend the funeral. Only 3 of 24 states in the Arab League – Oman, Somalia and Sudan – sent representatives at all. [44] Sadat was buried in the unknown soldier memorial in Cairo , across the street from the stand where he was assassinated.

Over three hundred Islamic radicals were indicted in the trial of assassin Khalid Islambouli, including Ayman al-Zawahiri , Omar Abdel-Rahman and Abd al-Hamid Kishk . The trial was covered by the international press and Zawahiri's knowledge of English made him the de facto spokesman for the defendants. Zawahiri was released from prison in 1984. His brother Muhammad al-Zawahiri was imprisoned from 2000 until 17 March 2011, and then re-arrested on 20 March 2011. [45] Abboud al-Zomor and Tareq al-Zomor , two Islamic Jihad leaders imprisoned in connection with the assassination, were released on 11 March 2011. [46] Despite these facts, the nephew of the late president, Talaat Sadat , claimed that the assassination was an international conspiracy. On 31 October 2006, he was sentenced to a year in prison for defaming Egypt's armed forces, less than a month after he gave the interview accusing Egyptian generals of masterminding his uncle's assassination.

In an interview with a Saudi television channel, he also claimed both the United States and Israel were involved: "No one from the special personal protection group of the late president fired a single shot during the killing, and not one of them has been put on trial", he said. [47] Media portrayals of Anwar Sadat Edit In 1983, Sadat, a miniseries based on the life of Anwar Sadat, aired on US television with Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. in the title role. The film was promptly banned by the Egyptian government, as were all other movies produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, over allegations of historical inaccuracies. A civil lawsuit was brought by Egypt's artists' and film unions against Columbia Pictures and the film's directors, producers and scriptwriters before a court in Cairo, but was dismissed; the court held that "the distortions and the slanders found in the film took place outside the country", so that "the crimes were not within the Egyptian courts' jurisdiction ." [48] Western authors attributed the film's poor reception to racism – Gossett being African American – in the Egyptian government or Egypt in general.

[49] Either way, one Western source wrote that Sadat's portrayal by Gossett "bothered race-conscious Egyptians and wouldn't have pleased [the deceased] Sadat." [50] – The two-part series earned Gossett an Emmy nomination in the United States. The first Egyptian depiction of Sadat's life came in 2001, when Ayyam El Sadat (English: Days of Sadat) was released in Egyptian cinemas. This movie, by contrast, was a major success in Egypt, and was hailed as Ahmed Zaki's greatest performance to date. [51] The BBC also produced a film on Sadat called " Why Was Cairo Calm? ". Film director and blogger Adam Curtis summarizes the documentary: "It tells the story of Sadat's presidency - and how the American TV networks created a fantasy vision of him as a wise democratic leader who had opened up the Egyptian economy to the free market, and was loved by his people for making peace for Israel. As the film shows - this was a complete illusion." The young Sadat is a major character in Ken Follett 's thriller The Key to Rebecca , taking place in World War II Cairo.

Sadat, at the time a young officer in the Egyptian Army and involved in anti-British revolutionary activities, is presented quite sympathetically; his willingness to cooperate with German spies is clearly shown to derive from his wish to find allies against British colonial domination of his country, rather than from support of Nazi ideology. Some of the scenes in the book, such as Sadat's arrest by the British, closely follow the information provided in Sadat's own autobiography. Bibliography Edit Sadat, Anwar (1954) (in Arabic). قصة الثورة كاملة (The Full Story of the Revolution). Cairo: Dar el-Hilal. OCLC 23485697 . Sadat, Anwar (1955) (in Arabic). صفحات مجهولة (Unknown Pages of the Revolution). Cairo: دار التحرير للطبع والنشر،. OCLC 10739895 . Sadat, Anwar (1957). Revolt on the Nile. New York: J. Day Co. OCLC 1226176 . Sadat, Anwar (1958).

Son, This Is Your Uncle Gamal - Memoirs of Anwar el-Sadat. Beirut: Maktabat al-ʻIrfān. OCLC 27919901 . Sadat, Anwar (1978). In Search of Identity: An Autobiography. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-013742-8 . References Anwar al-Sadat | Jewish Virtual Library Tweet Born into a family of 13 children in 1918, Anwar al-Sadat grew up among average Egyptian villagers in the town of Mit Abul Kom 40 miles to the north of Cairo. Having completed a grade school education, Sadat's father worked as a clerk in the local military hospital. By the time of his birth, Anwar's Egypt had become a British colony. Crippling debt had forced the Egyptian government to sell the British government its interests in the French engineered Suez Canal linking the Mediteranian Sea with the Indian Ocean. The British and French had used these resources to establish enough political control over Egyptian affairs to refer to Egypt as a British colony. Four figures affected Sadat's early life.

The first, a man named Zahran, came from a small village like Sadat's. In a famous incident of colonial rule, the British hanged Zahran for participating in a riot which had resulted in the death of a British officer. Sadat admired the courage Zahran exhibit on the way to the gallows. The second, Kemel Ataturk, created the modern state of Turkey by forcing the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Not only had Ataturk thrown off the shackles of colonialism, but he established a number of civil service reforms, which Sadat admired. The third man was Mohandas Gandhi. Touring Egypt in 1932, Gandhi had preached the power of nonviolence in combating injustice. And finally, the young Sadat admired Adolf Hitler whom the anticolonialist Sadat viewed as a potential rival to British control. In 1936, as part of a deal between the British and the Wafd party, the British agreed to create a military school in Egypt. Sadat was among its first students. Besides the traditional training in math and science, each student learned to analyze battles. Sadat even studied the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in America's civil war.

Upon graduating from the academy, the government posted Sadat to a distant outpost. There he met Gamal Abdel Nasser , beginning a long political association which eventually led to the Egyptian presidency. At this outpost, Sadat, Nasser and the other young officers formed a revolutionary group destined to overthrow British rule. Commitment to their revolution led Sadat to jail twice. During his second stay in jail, Sadat taught himself French and English. But the grueling loneliness of jail took its toll. After leaving prison, Sadat returned to civilian life. He acted for a bit, and he joined in several business deals. Through one of his deals, Sadat met Jihan whom he would eventually marry. Sadat recontacted his old associate Nasser to find that their revolutionary movement had grown considerably while he was in prison. On July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Organization staged a coup overthrowing the monarchy. From the moment of the coup, Sadat began as Nasser's public relations minister and trusted lieutenant. Nasser assigned Sadat the task of overseeing the official abdication of King Farouk. Working with Nasser Sadat learned the dangerous game of nation-building in a world of superpower rivalries.

Egypt eventually became the leading "non-aligned" country in the world, giving a voice, through Nasser, to the desires of the undeveloped and post-colonial societies. Their most important trial came over the Suez Canal, which Nasser nationalized in 1956. In a coordinated effort, the British, French, and the new nation of Israel launched an attack on Egypt hoping to reestablish colonial control over the Canal and its profits. The 1956 war ended only after the United States pressured its allies to withdraw. Egypt emerged from the war a hero of the non-aligned countries, having successfully resisted colonial powers and maintained its control of the Suez. Nasser's prominence suffered greatly from the debacle of the Six Day War. In it, the Israeli military completely destroyed the Egyptian air forces (mostly caught unawares on the ground) and swept through the Sinai to the Suez Canal routing the Egyptian army, killing at least 3,000 soldiers. The devastation also threatened to bankrupt the government. Internal squabbling among Arab nations and the growing Palestinian movement eventually strained Nasser's abilities to the limit. Under the strain, Nasser collapsed and died on September 29, 1970.

When he succeeded Nasser, Sadat was completely unknown and untested. Over the next 11 years, however, Sadat proved his leadership abilities. His first trial on the international scene involved the aftermath of the Six Day War . Sadat openly offered the Israelis a peace treaty in exchange for the return of the Sinai lands taken in the attack. Domestic crisis and international intrigue presented Sadat with seemingly insurmountable problems. The Egyptian economy continued to reel from war with Israel and the Egyptians' continuing relationship with the Soviet Union deteriorated as the Soviets proved unreliable allies. When pressed for more military support to replace the devastation of the Six Day War , the Soviets simply ignored Sadat's requests. In a bold move, which soon became his trademark, Sadat expelled the Soviets. This grand gesture solidified Egyptian internal support at a time when the average Egyptian suffered greatly. Behind the scenes, however, Sadat plotted to retake the Egyptian Sinai if the Israelis continued to refuse the Egyptian peace initiative. On October 6, 1973 , Sadat struck. With exceptional military precision, the Egyptian army crossed the Suez back into the Sinai and began driving the Israeli army into the desert.

Though short-lived, the attack created a new momentum for peace both in Egypt and in Israel. These pressures coincided with continued domestic problems in Egypt. The deteriorating economy in Egypt, accompanied by a growing distance between rich and poor, led to internal strife, riots, strikes, attacks on the rich. These internal pressures raised the attention of the international community, particularly the United States, concerned that internal strife would weaken Sadat's moderate policies. Convinced that peace with Israel would reap an enormous "peace dividend," Sadat initiated his most important diplomatic ploy. In a speech to the Egyptian parliament in 1977, Sadat affirmed his desire to go anywhere to negotiate a peace with the Israelis. Even, he affirmed, he would go to the Israeli parliament to speak for peace. The Israelis responded with an invitation to do just that and Sadat's speech to the Israeli Knesset initiated a new momentum for peace that would eventually culminate in the 1978 Camp David Accords and a final peace treaty with Israel in 1979. For his efforts, Sadat won the Nobel Prize for Peace.

At home, Sadat's new relationship with the west and his peace treaty generated considerable domestic opposition, especially among fundamentalist Muslim groups. In 1980 and in 1981, Sadat took desperate gambles to respond to these new internal problems. He negotiated a number of loans to support improvements in everyday life. And he simultaneously enacted laws outlawing protest and declared that the Shari'a would be the basis of all new Egyptian law. Sadat died at the hands of Muslim fundamentalist assassins on October 6, 1981, during a military review celebrating the Suez crossing in 1973. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Hosni Mubarak .

Question: Who succeeded "Anwar Sadat as President of Egypt?
Answer: Hosni Mubarak